


Picture Perfect

by lasairfhiona



Category: West Wing
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-09-19
Packaged: 2017-11-14 15:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo finds a gift on his desk that says it all</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picture Perfect

For the first time in a long time, Leo McGarry took the morning off, letting his deputy handle the daily briefings while he had breakfast with his daughter. Josh was a good boy and it would be beneficial experience for him, just as it was worthwhile for Leo to loosen the reins of control once in a while. So good in fact, Leo was thinking about making breakfast with Mallory a standing date a few times a month or more if their schedules allowed. Over the years he'd been accused of always putting his job first. The whole offer of the censure as a way to make the testimonies go away made him want to re-evaluate a number of things in his life. 

The final straw was Jed Bartlet taking the censure in part because he believed he was wrong and in part to protect him. Accepting that decision had been the hardest thing for Leo to do. He'd told Cliff he took a shot for the President, not the other way around, and he honestly believed that. To have Jed take the censure to get him off the hook was wrong in his book. He knew how much the Presidency meant to Jed and he knew how much Jed wanted to accomplish during his time in office. It was Leo's fear that this censure would jeopardize those goals. The flip side of that was that if he had testified his problem with booze and pills would come back up and his addictions had already hurt this administration once. So with a grace more characteristic of the President than his usual gruff manner, Leo finally accepted Jed's decision in his head and heart. That acceptance and the reevaluation of his personal life made him realize that while he sarcastically asked other senior staffers if they had a life when they seemed to have moved into the West Wing, he was the one who didn't have a life outside of being Chief of Staff. Vowing to change that, Leo looked at his relationships with the people he cared about and found them lacking, especially the one he had with Mallory. He'd called his daughter the next day and asked her to breakfast which led him to where he was now -- walking through the West Wing, smiling and relaxed after spending the morning with Mallory.

Finally, rolling into his office around ten, Leo looked through the folders Margaret had stacked on his desk according to category: foreign policy, domestic policy, and press concerns. Off to one side of the folders sat the New York Times crossword puzzle with a few answers already scrawled in courtesy of the President. Jed always did things like this because he knew it bugged him. Picking up the paper, intending to head to the President's office, he saw a package wrapped in plain brown paper underneath.

"Margaret," he yelled for his assistant, having missed her when he came in.

"You called," she said with a hint of sarcasm as she stood in the doorway.

"What's this?" Leo asked, holding up the mysterious package.

"Where did that come from?" she asked feigning ignorance as she walked fully into the room carrying a stack of memos. "These are what Josh didn't get to," she informed him before dropping the pile on his desk and leaving. Popping her head back in she added, "Open it," before closing the door between their offices.

Knowing he wasn't going to get anything else out of Margaret, Leo sat back in his chair and ripped the paper away, exposing a plain white box. Opening it, he tipped the contents into his hand. He removed the protective tissue from what he discovered was an 8 x 10 inch frame. Turning it over, Leo was confronted with the last thing he expected and something he knew he'd treasure as much as the framed napkin sitting on the corner of his desk. It made him smile to think about how the photo came to be...

...The President had issued an invitation for the senior staff and their families or significant others to spend New Years Day together in the residence. There was one stipulation, however, everyone had to be dressed casually, no suits, no office clothes and preferably they had to wear jeans. 

Leo had a feeling that the invitation had a lot to do with the fact that they had all been under a lot of pressure since the disclosure of the President's MS and he wanted to give them a reason to relax. Not to mention Notre Dame was playing the University of Michigan and the President wasn't about to let the fact that his alma mater was playing Leo's pass.

When Leo finally arrived late with Mallory on his arm, he surprised them all by being dressed in an old pair of jeans and an aged button down shirt with the U of M's logo embroidered on the pocket. He saw the President had achieved exactly what he'd set out to do -- everyone was relaxed and having a good time.

CJ proved she truly was a Californian by wearing a pair of jeans so old and faded they hugged her long legs and looked as if they would split if she moved wrong. Toby, who had grumbled all week about not owning a pair of jeans, was there in what Leo saw was a brand spanking new pair. In true Toby fashion, however, he complained about how stiff and uncomfortable they were, much to the delight of those who wished to harass the often dour man. Josh and Sam managed to look well dressed even in their jeans and sweaters and even Donna proved that being in Washington hadn't taken the farm girl out of her.

The day was spent with friendly bickering about the outcome of the game, including Notre Dame and Rose Bowl trivia, the President subjected them too. Even the Fighting Irish's last minute loss to the Wolverines didn't diminish the President's jovial mood. And when someone suggested a group picture or two to commemorate the day, they all crowded around and on the sofa, squeezing to make sure they were all in the shot...

...Leo's smile turned to a lump in his throat as he looked at the photo. Toby, CJ, Sam and Josh all sat on the sofa with Donna stretched out across their laps. Behind them Leo stood between his daughter and the President with Abbey, Zoey, and Charlie to Jed's other side, their arms wrapped around each other, laughing. Scrawled in the corner of the picture in the familiar handwriting of his oldest friend was one word -- family.

Hearing a sound, Leo looked up to see the President standing in the doorway between their offices watching him.

"You did this?" Leo asked, almost gruffly, holding up the picture.

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Leo repeated nodding as the President backed out and closed the door. Looking down at the picture, Leo thought -- they really were a family and it had been a picture perfect day.

 

The end


End file.
